I recently visited my dad who lives at the place along the Coquille River where Grandmother Rock (also known as Tupper Rock, for a Capt. Tupper who once ran a hotel by it) once stood. Poor grandmo… Source: Grandmother Rock of Bandon Continue reading Grandmother Rock of Bandon
Southwest Oregon Research Projects & The Archival Collection In 1995, I attended an event that would impact me for many years. The event was a potlatch held by the Coquille tribe and the University of Oregon. There was given away copies of some 50,000 pages of information collected from the Smithsonian Institution to the Tribes of Oregon. It was amazing to see all of these national figures in anthropology and the university and local tribes attend and receive their gifts. I did not known much about the project then, nor did I view the collection. It wasn’t until 1997 … Continue reading 20 Years of the Southwest Oregon Research Project
In recent years, histories of the Indians of Oregon have come under scrutiny by a cadre of historians and anthropologists. Questioned now are events that took place in Oregon, how the events unfolded and some of the “facts” of native history that most people have come to assume are the only history of Native peoples in Oregon. My investigation into possible mis-characterizations of Native history in Oregon has led to numerous new discoveries about native history in the historic era. These discoveries place much of the written Native history from 1850 to 1970 in doubt. One of the most egregious problems is … Continue reading Travels, Campmeetings, and Off-Rez Settlements of the Western Oregon Tribes
Over the years, I have made innumerable presentations about the history of the Oregon Tribes. My history is developed from my own research into the tribal histories and I have addressed many topics which have been important to understanding the history of the tribes, and why tribes live the way they live today. I have delved into topics which have not been well covered by past or current scholarship. Much of the information is not taught or known about by many Oregonians. I have used this statement many times to catch the attention of people who admittedly never learned the … Continue reading American Complicity in Genocide In Oregon
Reverend Robert Summers, the Episcopalian Minister of McMinnville (1873-1881) had a varied history in Oregon. Robert went from being a settler, to becoming an Episcopalian minister, while he collected Indian artifacts from various reservations in the region while his wife Lucia engaged in botanical collecting. In 1853 the young Robert Summers, who was born in Kentucky, took up a land claim in Eola Hills, northern Polk County, west of Salem. Summers was a distant relative of the Applegate family. The Applegates famously settled in Oregon in 1844, at Salt Creek, and was one of the first families in the area, … Continue reading Naturalists In Oregon: Robert and Lucia Summers